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This Day In Sports History (June 24th) — Steve Howe

It was on this day in 1992 that MLB commissioner Fay Vincent permanently suspended New York Yankees relief pitcher Steve Howe for repeated drug offenses. Yankees management, including Buck Showalter, Gene Michael and Jack Lawn, agreed to testify on Howe’s behalf, which angered Vincent, who threatened to expel them as well.

Steve Howe became only the second player in history to be banned from baseball due to substance abuse. The first was Ferguson Jenkins who, like Howe, would eventually be re-instated. A few months after the banning, Fay Vincent was removed from his job as commissioner and on November 11, 1992 an arbitrator overturned Vincent’s banishment of Howe.

This allowed Howe to return to the Yankees and continue his playing career. After a sub-par season in 1993, Howe had one of his finest seasons in ’94, finishing the year with 15 saves and a 1.80 ERA in 40 relief appearances.